The Eigth Pit:
"Just some of the arrivals?" Wally asks as the group looks over the ramparts of the fortress, below them a huge assortment of creatures are milling about in a disordered thong.
"Only a few thousand." The Archivist notes offhandedly.
"Guess you don't subjugate a dimension without a sizable army." Raven shrugs.
"And how many are there, missing that is?" Shayera asks.
"Tens of millions, from my own humble expectations and calculations." The Archivist shrugs."Where once it may have been billions." Some of the Leaguers look at his surprised.
"Trigon turned whatever survived in his dimension into demons." Raven adds. "This is what remains of them."
"Only very few remain with any memory from that time." The Archivist adds, getting a stare from Raven that seems to cow him before she turns back to watch the mass. "There is one of them." He says as another contingent arrives, spearheaded by what looks like a spider of colossal size made of stone and molten lava. "Hexzakar."
"Seems there are more of those we saw at the start." Shayera mentions as she looks to the sky, spotting distant shapes flying in their direction, further down the slopes a dust cloud is moving towards them as well.
"No." Raven replies flatly. "Those are far bigger." It wasn't that Raven saw them any clearer than Shayera, but she could see their aura's.
"Kent, are those what I think they are?" Zatanna asks over their bond.
"Greater demons? It appears to be the case." Fate replies calmly
"The Trigonian Guard." The Archivist notes. "The Masters greatest body of soldiers."
"I think I know what that is." Philipus notes as to the other side of the mountain, opposite of the dust cloud, a field of fire seems to move towards them. "Pyre's right?"
"Looks like it." Raven says. "Any sign of Tharkmar?" She asks without turning.
"He leads the Guard." The Archevist replies as the eight flying shapes begin circling the fortress. "He will not bow to you."
"Yes he will." Raven replies flatly as one of them drops from its altitude, falling around a hundred meters before it flips around and spreads its wings and slams into the ground, breaking the stones in the courtyard around it.
Raven recognizes its kind, the same as the pair that escorted Cerberus and the Emissary, only much bigger. Around twice their height, making it five times that of a man, and with four snaking horns crowning its broad head, with two wicked looking axes and numerous skulls of various creatures hanging from its belt and bronze armor covering its body and upper legs.
"Tharkmar the Bloodied, your Highness." The Archivist introduces, as the immense creature rises to its full height while Raven slowly transforms into her winged shape.
"Quit your sniveling scroll keeper, this is no Queen of ours!" The beast replies with a voice like thunder as it regards Raven. "Bah, still tethered by humanity." It says before it spits on the ground before the groups feet, some of them watch the glob slowly eat its way into the stone.
"Someone needs to brush his teeth." Wally notes.
"He's going to remove it." Raven says, knowing a gauntlet when it was thrown, before launching herself into the air directly towards the towering monstrosity.
"Don't interfere, if she wins others will hesitate to challenge her." The Archivist says as he notices some of the others about to leap to her assistance.
"And if she doesn't." Zatanna asks.
"Then you had best prepare yourselves." He replies giving them a wicked smirk. "I already have my plans." Their attention is drawn back to the battle as Tharkmar howls in pain and is stumbling backwards, crashing into the main keep of the fortress before sitting down in the ruins.
"Say Uncle." Raven says as she flaps before the huge demon with the yellow streak of ichor crossing its face. The thing growls menacingly as it gets up and draws its axes, while Raven draws Shadowfury and bursts into flame.
"We meet again Tharkmar." Apollyon says from inside the blade in Raven's hand. "As we knew we would."
"And this time you will suffer!" Tharkmar growls before he launches a barrage of attacks against Raven, who is hard pressed to deflect and dodge the huge creatures swings and is forced back. From the ramparts the group begins to cheer her on.
"Push back Raven!" Diana yells, it is the only call Raven hears before feeling the wall pressing against her back. Raven ends up with straining with maintaining a shield with her left hand and with the sword in her right, to parry the two opposite aimed attacks.
"Perhaps you will serve well as my concubine?" Tharkmar leers at her, the only reply he gets is Ravens eyes turning red before a blast sends him flying back into the fortress. He is quickly back on his feet and is swooping towards Raven who is also moving towards though at a slower pace while her eyes blaze with power. Again he begins swinging at a blistering pace, the others watch as Raven with apparent ease dodges every attack. "Stand still vermin!" Tharkmar growls.
"Yes, that sounds like a good idea." Raven replies as she shifts tactics, instead of dodging every attack, she shifts to moving into positions where she lands open palmed strikes against the flat heads of the axes that cleaves the air around her. The force of the strikes throws Tharkmar out of rhythm and off balance.
"She is playing with him." Diana realizes in time for a crunching sound to be heard swiftly followed by a pained growl as Raven had brought the pommel of Shadowfury down on Tharkmar's huge nose.
"She is reading his movements." Batman agrees as Tharkmar has again stumbled back while Raven lands on the ground. The distance between them leaves room for Tharkmar to lash out at Raven with his right handed weapon. Some of the spectators barely see it move before it is caught in a black aura, the edge mere centimeters from Raven's neck, while she had not moved at all.
Tharkmar seems part surprised and part worried as he pulls at the weapon to him, finding it stuck in place with Raven sheathes Shadowfury."I will take that." She says as black lightning races up through the weapon and into his arm, causing him to let go, growling in pain.
He is caught completely off guard as Raven flips the axe around and attacks, swinging the back of huge weapon's head with two hands into Thrakmars upper knee with another crunch that has him collapse on the ground.
Even when down, he parries several attacks with his remaining weapon before it is swept out of his hand. "You just say when you have had enough." Raven says before she begins beating away at the wounded creature with the butt of his own weapon. Giving up shielding his wounded leg, Tharkmar resorts to deflecting some of the attacks with his arms. But it is over, as everyone else knows it is, but he endures several minutes of lightning fast strikes against him before Raven gets past his guard and strikes his head, causing him to collapse on the ground.
Raven drops the bent-out-of-shape axe on the ground and levitates the limp Tharkmar into high into the air before flying over the ramparts, holding herself next to Thrakmars head. She doesn't say anything, but the creatures below seem to understand the message as they all seem to lower themselves to the ground. Seemingly pleased with the result, she drops the huge creature, letting it fall to the ground before the walls of the fortress.
"I have what we need." Raven announces as she lands before the others. "He will recover in time for when we leave in an hour or so. Archivist, send word into the fortress that it is coming as well." The demon bows before retreating.
"Read its mind?" Diana asks.
"Yeah, made it easier to predict its attacks." Raven replies.
"So how do we get there? Walk?" Philipus asks.
"Of course not." Raven dismisses. "We ride."
"On what?" Raven seems to gauge Philipus for a second before replying.
"You seem like you can handle one." Raven says.
"A what?"
"Those." Raven points out to the still distant cloud of dust. "Anyone else of sound body wants a single ride?"
"What's the alternative?" Jinx asks.
"Walking or flying under your own power of course or you join me on that." Raven replies before pointing at Hexzakar that has settled down on the edge of the gathering, while the smaller demons pass under it.
30 minutes later, the able bodied people who decided to have their own rides, which was everyone save Jinx, are looking at an assortment of demon-beasts. Etrigan had already chosen the biggest of the lot, a huge black iron-skinned beast that seemed more like a mechanical rhinoceros than a living creature.
"Well, it's not a steed of Themyscira." Philipus says as she looks at the creature in front of her. "But I think I'll take it." She adds, her selection is a dog-like creature, the size of a horse with dark green scales covering the top side of its back, head and tail, leaving the red skin visible further down. Probably its most distinctive feature is the spiked tail and the neck frill that is currently folded back.
"Maybe not, but I can almost guarantee it can run faster." Raven replies.
"I shall provide my own means of transportation." Fate says.
"Got anything that doesn't look like it would eat me if I fell off?" Zatanna asks.
"Doubt it." Raven shrugs. "Hmm hold up, I think I may have something that looks a bit more ordinary." Raven says before disappearing for a few moments. As she reappears, she opens a portal next to her and out steps a huge male lion, who's only indication of its unnatural origin is the glowing red eyes and darkened fur coat, the big cat sits down in front of Zatanna proving to be as tall as her when seated.
"And this won't eat me?" Zatanna asks without moving.
"Not unless I am allowed to." The lion replies calmly in a cultured, britsh-sounding, tone. "I am Numbra, pleasure to meet your acquaintance miss…?"
"Err… Zatanna." The magician replies, very off put by the lion.
"Seems like you are missing something?" Jinx notes at the lions features.
"He's not from the Pit originally." Raven mentions knowing the others having noticed that just about everything had four eyes down here.
"Indeed, my original habitat became extinct and merged with the Pit." Numbra explains. "But perhaps we shall talk more of it on the journey?"
"Guess you weren't one of the nice ones?" Zatanna asks.
"Of course not, I represented the death my believers feared lurking in the high grass." Numbra replies flatly. "But as you see, straws of grass are far between here."
"Uh-hu, well at least the trip won't be boring." Zatanna says, acknowledging her ride.
"We better go arrange our own transportation." Raven says before walking off with Jinx and the Founders in tow. The horde of demons slinking back and out of the way at their approach.
"Well you certainly seem to have their respect." Shayera notes.
"They are scared." Raven replies dryly. "Had I failed and survived fighting Tharkmar, I would have to fight all of them."
"So why the spider?" Jinx asks.
"I don't know how to grow to 90 feet, Hexzakar is the tallest creature here, will make me easily visible." Raven explains.
"Easy target." Batman mentions.
"This is a fight that will be decided by swords and magic, I don't have to worry about snipers. Anyways, if Merlin is as smart as I figure he is, the heaviest stuff will be directed at me."
"Sounds a bit hazardous?" Superman adds.
"From Tharkmar and the Seedmother, I learned that Talazzarr is very much just a city-sized brothel, not a true fortress. Most down here tends to leave it alone because they enjoy the services it occationally provides them. Besides Hexzakar didn't survive for this long by being a pushover." Raven replies giving them a slight smirk of confidence. "By the way, when we cross into the Greater Hell, I will have to change my attitude so I don't appear too..."
"Humanized?" Wally finishes for her.
"Exactly. For the time being I am planning on letting it appear as if I have taken up permanent residence here, which will either distract Neron from or make him think twice about attacking in retaliation. So just so you know, I will not be nice while acting like that, I have been trying to make that work on the Archivist."
"Were you ever nice?" Jinx asks in a teasing tone.
"That, my dear Jinx would land you in a world of hurt outside of here." Raven replies with a smirk. "After you." She says as two huge rocky legs dig into the ground before them, forming a sloping ramp up to the top of Hexzakars body. "Diana, I may ask permission to use your tactical experience, these creatures are not disciplined."
"And I will help you." Diane replies cheerfully, she is actually quite excited about the whole thing. The two begin discussing how to organize the horde beneath them that silently begins adopting the new formations.
It takes them a good five minutes to scale the huge creature's legs, finding the stone skin of the creature like that of a volcanic crater with numerous cracks, holes and odd rock like formations.
"So where will Fate and the others be when we get there?" J'onn asks.
"Preferably I will have them close to me, Etrigan I have a plan for." Raven says. "Speak of the devil." She says as a Reaver swoops down from above, carrying a pole with a banner wrapped around it, going down on one knee before offering it Raven. She touches it once and her eyes glow and her powers sink into the item. Without a word spoken between them, the Reaver leaps back into the air.
"What was that about?" Shayera asks.
"Personal banner. The Reaver will be asking Etrigan if he will carry it, since the Emissary is not here. When we get there, he and a few others will knock on the door and ask if they will hand over Malchior willingly, which has the odds of finding snow in here." Raven explains. "Let's get this show on the road?"
Slowly at first but gaining speed, the now ordered, legions of demons begin their march. The mounted companies with Zatanna, Etrigan and Philipus in the lead, the other riders are the same breed as the guards who brought in the Seedmother, who Raven had begun calling Fiends. Behind them come the foot soldiers, mainly Pyre's but with a few regiments of un-mounted Fiends. Hexzakar walks over them all, the great area between her eight legs leaves room for the army to pass under her. Behind the spider, the more unique beasts follow. Some look like trunk-less elephants, only larger and obviously carnivorous. Others appear to be large six legged black panther's with oily skin. Most fail to qualify for a comparable description. Above them the sky becomes filled with Reavers that take off from the surrounding landscape.
"What about that one?" Shayera asks, pointing out Tharkmar is still lying unmoving on the ground.
"He will know where we are going and catch up if he wakes up in time." Raven shrugs as what appears to be several fireballs at first, shoot up from the fortress courtyard, as they pass over, they are revealed to be burning chariots, each carrying two passengers. The Archivist in the lead with a female similar to the Seedmother riding with him.
Picking up speed, the army descends from the mountain slopes and onto the vast plains. Once they are clear of the mountains, Raven orders it to pick up speed, the horde does so and they travel at the speed of a running dog. Heading towards a line of distant light, they are met halfway by another army, consisting mostly of Pyres but also of a few new creatures, like the seven large growling cannon shaped beasts that are herded along by their fellows. As they watch, one Pyre is caught in front one of them and promptly swallowed by getting sucked into the barrel. Also the army adds more Reavers and several smaller versions of Thrakmar's breed. Raven recognized the leaders of this army, the Guardian and the Emissary who both go down on one knee when they meet her. The Guardian is assigned to ride one of the elephant creatures as he as the only member of the host that could not move as fast as desired; the Emissary is picked up by one of the chariots.
After assimilating the army, they continue for what seems like hours before reaching the light, a wide river of lava; the Phlegethon. Marching along the shores for some time they eventually come to the only passage across, a bridge made completely out of bones and paved with skulls that moan and complain at their passing. Diana mentions that Raven was asleep when they passed under it while riding in Charon's ferry. Raven replies that Phlegethon is actually the border between the Pit and the Greater Hell, but that the Pits' inhabitants control the both sides most of the time. After they cross over, Raven has Philipus, Fate and Zatanna fall back to ride just in front of Hexzakar, she didn't want to risk a stray pack of demons taking a a sudden swipe at them.
Several hours later they pass over a ridge and see it; Talazzarr. A huge black tower surrounded by a host of smaller towers and lined on the outside by a huge wall, with a single gate facing them. Everything from this distance seems to be either spikes or covered in them. Fate explains this has to do with the nature of the inhabitants of the tower.
As the army takes up the positions Raven has dictated, she turns to face the ghostly Leaguers and Fate who has joined them.
"Well, this is it. If you want me to, I will pull back. If not, many demons will perish today." She says.
"Raven, this is your choice, we will deal with what comes after." Superman says. "Besides, these aren't human." The other nod in agreement, it had been one of the things Batman had been reading up on; Raven's extensive knowledge of demons.
"A word of caution." Fate says. "These are experts of mind magic's, do not trust anything you see here."
"I will keep that in mind, I guess you have told the others?" Raven says getting a nod from the mage. "Good, I am sending Etrigan in now." She says as she turns to watch five figures ride forwards, with Etrigan in the lead carrying the unfurled banner he was given, a tall piece of cloth depicting the silhouette of Raven's Soul-Self with a single half open purple eye in its center radiating eight yellow arrows. The riders stop a few dozen meters from the closed gates.
"HEED THE WORD OF ETRIGAN, SON OF BELIAL!" The yellow demon bellows. "THE RULER OF THE EIGTH PIT DESIRES THE DRAGONS CORPSE! YIELD IT AND YOU SHALL BE SPARED!" A deep grinding laughter greets Etrigan and the army.
"Once again you amuse me fool brother! But I shall give you the option of leaving my lands without undue bother; for I, Myrrdin, shall not give up my prize!" The grinding voice says, seemingly coming from the tower itself. "Least of all to some half-breed witch."
"Thy fate is sealed then, brother." Etrigan shrugs before turning his mount and rides back.
"Raven?" Batman asks as Raven has yet to issue an order after Etrigan has returned.
"Sorry, this will just go against everything I was taught as a child." She sighs. "Violence is never the answer, alas here it is unavoidable." She replies with a hint of sadness. "FIRE!" She yells, almost as one, the demonic cannons launch screaming blue projectiles at the fortress. "Focus on the gate! Hexzakar!" The huge creature beneath them slowly spreads its legs behind it, as it opens its huge mouth that proves to be like that of a snakes in its capability of expanding, revealing the insides to be as white hot as the sun. The creature shakes slightly before a huge ball of flame is added to the barrage.
The projectiles impact with the gate and the surrounding wall, covering it in dust. "Again." Raven commands and Hexzakar brings another ball of flame to bear, followed by the cannons this time an audible crunch is head from the wall. "Cannon's, pick a part of the wall and bring it down, Hexzakar, begin bombarding the city beyond the wall. Guardian, break the door down! Pyre's follow him!"
A deep roar is heard as the Guardian has his beast form a solid wedge with two other similar creatures before they charge across the open grounds, followed by the pyre's.
"What about us?!" Philipus yells, clearly impatient to have something to do.
"Wait for it." Raven says calmly as the beasts cross the half way mark, as if on cue Talazzar's walls come alive in a volley of flaming arrows that impales many of the Pyre's, returning them to ash, but the beasts and the Guardian shrugs the projectiles off like water. "Reavers, scour the ramparts!" Raven yells, from behind the artillery rises a screaming cloud of creatures that fly across the skies to get to their targets, who quickly have more pressing targets to engage than the Pyres below them.
A deep crushing sound is heard as the Guardian completes his charge and crashes through the thick wooden gate swiftly followed by the Pyres. As they enter a horn is blow somewhere to their right, as they look for the source, they spot a large contingent of black armored knights with tall lances approaching their flank.
"Etrigan, take them head on. Philipus lead the other hound riders around them." Raven orders, Philipus smirks and rides under Hexzakar and behind him, followed by the others with similar mounts. Etrigan roars before planting the banner in the ground and waving the remains of the cavalry around him forwards. The distant knights also lower their lances and begins their charge.
At the fifth barrage from the cannons, a section of the wall collapses. "Fiends, get through that!" Raven yells, the red skinned demons obey and march swiftly towards the breach, followed closely by the remaining monsters.
"We have incoming!" Jinx yells before unleashing her magic against the sky, where a swarm of gangly creature's race towards them born on skeletal bat wings, those it hits are subsequently suffering from a stroke of bad luck where they collide with one another before falling to the ground.
"I was starting to think we would be sidelined." Shayera says, carefully extending her hands in front of her. "How did this work again?" She says right before two pure white bolts of energy race out from her, incinerating several assailants it passes through. "Oh."
"Neat!" Wally says enthusiastically as he unconsciously forms two glowing balls of energy in his hands. "Whoa!" He says as he notices it before throwing them at the group.
"League, cover fire!" Batman yells as he forms smaller versions of the energy balls Wally had before throwing them.
"Kinda small, aren't they?" Wally notes at them.
"Wait for it." Batman says calmly as his projectiles seem to part, taking down more of the fiends.
Superman sticks to what he knows and fires white beams from his eyes, as does John who fires single beams from his clenched fist. Diana, feeling inspired, hurls what looks like bolts of lightning in the manner of Zeus. J'onn remains motionless as several small glowing balls form around him, they shrink and pulse rapidly before they all fire.
Raven, Fate, Zatanna and Jinx all add to the barrage of magical attack, as does several of the chariot riding demon mages. All it takes is a few moments and the skies are once again theirs. As they confirm the last assailants to be gone, a crash of steel and the screams of battle are heard from the right. As they turn they see several of the fiends following Etrigan getting impaled on the lances of the knights carrying them clear of their saddles.
While Etrigans riders are vastly outnumbered, their mounts are much heavier than their opponents and several deep wedges are smashed into the ranks of the knights and brutal close combat ensures. As they watch, they can see Etrigan leap around inside the knights tearing them apart. The fight continues for several moments before the superior number of the knights begins to tell and Etrigan's riders are surrounded.
"FOR ATHENA! FOR THEMYSCIRA!" A woman yells before the spectators see Philipus' lighting race from her towards the back of the knights. The woman comes riding with the others behind her at an incredible pace that only allows her to fire a second round of lighting before the dogs leap into the fray, taking several knights and their horses to the ground, a single hound impaling itself on a lance.
"It is time; let's go see if we can find a dragon." Raven says calmly transforming into her winged shape, now that the panic and confusion is spreading through the ranks of the knights. "Lend me your arms Jinx." The pink headed sorceress does without question and is hoisted into the air.
Behind them, Fate and the League follow as does Zatanna on the ground, still mounted on Numbra. Landing half way between the artillery and the fortress, Raven orders the shelling to cease with a hand gesture before walking the rest of the way, being met by Etrigan and Philipus along the way, Philipus sitting behind Etrigan on one of the metal beasts.
"Well you two look happy." Zatanna notes at the two as she gets off Numbra.
"We don't have the luxury of mass cavalry charges on Themyscira." Philipus says as she jumps off, Raven can feel she is ecstatic. "Thanks for the ride."
"It would be an honor." Etrigan replies with a smirk.
"Remember what I said." Fate cautions as they cross the shattered gates and enters Talazarr, finding the paved road covered in a thin layer of gravely ash.
"Is that…?" Superman asks at a pink shoulder poking out of a pile of rubble.
"senotS enogeb." Zatanna says and the rocks fly off to the side revealing the body beneath. Raven wonders for a moment if the succubus is related to Tala before dismissing it, thought the demon looks almost exactly like Tala in her true shape. But it's hard to tell since its face and most of its head had been crushed.
"Ew…" Wally says.
"Yes, the succubi are revolting creatures, practically inedible." Numbra says, getting a few looks that he ignores.
"And Tala is one of these?" J'onn asks.
"This is her city." Raven replies. "She just has more fun in our world apparently, and yes, her image of herself in her mind is like that one."
"Succubi and incubi read minds and shape themselves to reflect the object of desire of their prey." Fate says.
"Possibly we will see this demonstrated before this is over." Raven says. "Let's continue."
They continue their walk, finding more dead inhabitants and a few Fiends along the way, but the sounds of struggle and inhuman screams are never far off. At a point, they have to form a single line as they have to pass a narrow corridor, halfway blocked by fallen masonry, forcing Etrigan to dismount.
"Question, since we are in Hell, aren't there supposed to be, I don't know, damned souls down here?" Wally asks as they group up again.
"You don't want to know." Raven says.
"Actually I do." The speedster says confidently. Raven summons a large black square stone.
"Some end up like various holy scriptures say, in eternal torment, like in Tartarus. Some end up here for the amusement of the inhabitants. And those really unfortunate, become this." She says as she lets the stone glide over to Wally.
"A rock?" He asks looking at it.
"Help me…." A small but pained voice emits from the stone as an anguished face plays over the stone.
"Yikes!" Wally says and jumps back and looks around himself as he realizes the entire city is made of these things.
"There are places where they have these things called Renderes, they take a soul and transmute it into any material they may need, this is what this entire city is made of." Raven sighs as she looks around at the structures around them, tossing the stone back to where she found it. This was also a reason she didn't want the League in her head right now, this place is making her skin crawl and she didn't want them to see this place like she is, it would just give them nightmares.
"Zatanna…" A ghostly voice reaches the magician her as Raven talks, she turns around to look at the direction she heard it come from, spotting a tall male figure with a long coat and a top hat standing in the shadows of an alley.
While keeping in mind Fate's words, Zatanna walks slowly towards the figure who turns and walks further into the alley, drawing her in. "Who are you?" Zatanna sends back as she follows a little quicker, there was something familiar about him.
"Don't you recognize me Zee?" He says as he ducks into another alley between buildings. As Zatanna turns the corner, she finds him standing almost in front of her, the hat, the black coat, the mustache, it all fits into her memories.
"Dad?"